Sometimes lube in the junction box conduit helps.
Getting in the water and pulling may work.
I have cut the fixture and tied cord to a 2X4 and used it as a lever against the pool deck with some success. Be careful though not to snap the cord if at all possible using this method. At times I have removed the cord and the ground wire together. A new ground must be re-installed and potted in the niche if you do this.

Is the conduit copper or plastic? There may be a nut on the inside of the niche preventing movement of the cord.
Old Anthony pools had copper conduit at 90 deg angles which made removing the cord impossible. Often we need to expose the conduit under the deck to remove the fixture.

-R

Conduit is plastic, looks like 1-1.5 inch. We cut the old light off and taped the new line to the exposed end. We are pulling from the pump end, not the fixture end, so that as we pull back the old line the new line will come through with it.

The ground wire is wrapped with green plastic, we are worried that it may be twisted around the electric line or something. My friend had a guy spend days pulling and it finally came loose, but her pool was 25yrs old and mine is only 6. Hers had a 90degree angle, mine look curved with only a few connectors.

If the cord won't budge, you may try pulling from the other direction. Be sure to attach a pull string to the cord, so that if it you lose it in the conduit, you still have the string to pull it out.

-R

There are a couple of ways to proceed. The fixture is not normally cut off. The cord is usually pulled the other way, from the niche end.

If it doesn't want to come out, a trip in the pool may be needed so you can use the wall to put your feet against for extra leverage. Sometimes it gets caught on the bond wire in the conduit. If that happens, the bonding wire is pulled out.

If there is some service slack, it may help to avoid having to disconnect the niche end of the wire, pull the new cord for the fixture without a wire in the conduit. Then a new bond wire is fished down the conduit in the niche and repotted or the old bond wire is fished up the conduit and reconnected.

Long runs from the deck box to the niche may need a wire fish for pulling.

Scott

Scotts description using your feet against the wall is the best way. He didn't mention wrapping the cord around some pvc pipe or shovel handle or something to help in the pulling process.

See, this is why we keep coming back.

Never thought about attaching a line to the end at the pump side then pull from niche, then attach new wire to line and pull back through from pump side. Totally makes sense.

I am thinking we have to pull the ground wire out along with old light wire and then run it back with the new wire. Makes sense.

I really appreciate the feedback. Will keep you all posted on how it goes.

The NEC has required for several years that silicone be pumped into the conduit at the niche which makes it very difficult if not impossible to pull it from the junction box.

Silicone? To plug the hole or for some other purpose? Can you help me understand where this is required in the code? My inspector and building dept said nothing about this.

Yes Reno,
Please enlighten us all about that code.

It appears I have been building all these years and know nothing of it.